Reasoning

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

REASONING

Acts 18:1-4

18:1 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

NIV

It is interesting that Paul is somewhat, well at least in our opinion, a vagabond. He is always on the move. We would think that in Athens after making such headway, having a few men become followers, although Luke says they became followers of Paul, he would have stayed longer working with Dionysius and this woman Damaris and the others, disciplining them in the ways of following Jesus. We assume that when Luke said they became Paul's followers, he meant they believed in Jesus as the one true God, seeing the truth about all the idols of stone, gold, and silver as worthless things, meaningless to their lives. However, we do wonder why Paul did not stay to disciple them and begin a new fellowship so that all his dialoguing had a lasting impression in Athens. Perhaps that is just Paul and how he feels he must always be on the move, spreading the good news about Jesus. We certainly have developed a whole different system today. We have those who have felt the call to travel to some foreign soil and take up roots there to spread the good news about Christianity. Of course, we know that Paul wrote many letters to various churches through Asia, where he had been and did dialog with the Jews in the synagogue as well as with Gentiles, like the God-fearing Greeks in Thessalonica and then just in Athens, and we know he wrote to the churches in Ephesus, Philippi and many more, with words far past just the good news about Jesus. His letters were of a disciplining nature, giving them, and us, areas of proper thinking and conduct as believers in Jesus. Yet those who feel that call to travel away from their homeland feel a specific call to be in one village, town, or city working with people, training them in the ways of Christianity. Personally, we have friends who spend many years, 20 or so, and making little headway, bringing but a few to the knowledge of Jesus. Perhaps that is the way we do things today. However, Paul was always on the move, always looking to dialog with as many as he could. Now, as he gets to Corinth, he meets two people of the same profession that he had learned at some time in his life, tent making. Of course, Aquila and Priscilla were Jews, a familiar connection. Maybe this was a good thing for Paul, giving him some repose as he worked making tents. However, again, as was his custom, he went to the synagogue and this time perhaps with an introduction from Aquila, he reasoned with them. Again, this is the Greek word we get dialog from which carries the meaning persuade others to think differently, to mingle thoughts to ponder, to converse, to discourse with one, to argue, discuss, absolutely, or say thoroughly. We wonder if we do anything similar to that at all, or at least, anything resembling dialog. We do wonder if any of the Jews in the synagogue responded, or refuted Paul, having a back-and-forth conversation, having a disputing attitude, or rather they just sat quietly and listened to his reasoning. Today, we know that it would be very rare for anyone to simply listen, for it seems we all, believers, and non-believers alike have our own opinion and are quite vocal in expressing views of life, and about religious matters. Where could we find a place where we could actually reason with people and see them change their thinking?  Perhaps we have become far too silent because of that thinking. Maybe we simply need to start reasoning.